The 10 Craziest Prehistoric Sharks!

sharks have lived more than 400 million years and thousands of sorts extinct over that time. Today’s sharks are beautiful freak. Remember that the whale shark can measure up to 60 feet long but survives almost entirely on small plankton! Or look at hammerhead sharks That has 360 degree view thanks to their unique head shape!

Yet prehistoric sharks even had crazier modifications. In the article below, we dive into 10 of the crazy prehistoric sharks. From anvil heads to ‘chainsaw mouths’, you’ll find some prehistoric… sharks those are mind blowing!

10. Hybodus

Hybodus lived about 303.4 million to 66 million years ago and is possibly one of the longest-living prehistoric sharks of all time. It is definitely the longest lived on this list! The Hybodus looked a lot like modern-day sharks, which can’t be said about the other sharks here, although it did have large spines sticking out of its dorsal fins. These spikes were most likely ways the shark could defend itself from potential predators.

The Hybodus shark lived for a very long time, in different places in the world. Today, fossils have been found everywhere – and all from different eras!

One of the more interesting features of the Hybodus has to do with its teeth. The Hybodus had teeth arranged in two sets in its mouth: teeth in the front and then teeth in the back. The teeth in the front were useful when grabbing its prey, while the teeth in the back were rounder and useful when crushing things like shells!

Because of this interesting arrangement of teeth, it doesn’t appear that any prey can successfully escape from the Hybodus. Besides much larger creatures in the ocean that hunted Hybodus, this shark was an important predator in the sea!

9. Cretoxyrhina

The Cretoxyrhina lived during the Cretaceous period, a time when a lot of great creatures in the ocean, all fighting for supreme dominance over others. While the Cretoxyrhina was not the largest creature in the sea at the time, it was certainly the apex predator in many areas. Some fossils have shown that Cretoxyrhina wasn’t even afraid to take on much larger predators!

The Cretoxyrhina lived about 100 million to 75 million years ago – meaning it’s almost the youngest shark listed here! It is also often referred to as the Ginsu shark, named after the Ginsu blade, because of its very sharp teeth. A cretoxyrhina’s teeth, about 490 in all, were razor sharp and are thought to cut through flesh and even bones with ease.

While it may have been thought that the Cretoxyrhina had a lot of predators because of the crazy time it lived in, the Cretoxyrhina actually had a lot of predators. prey. Even the Archelon, the largest turtle in the history of the earth, was the prey of the Cretoxyrhina!

8. Stethacanthus

The Stethacanthus lived about 360 million to 340 million years ago, making it one of the oldest sharks on this list! Often referred to as the anvil shark, the Stethacanthus had a strange dorsal fin for which it is now known.

We all know what the fin on the upper back of a modern shark looks like. The dorsal fin of a Stethacanthus is in the same location, but is not as pointed as that of a modern shark. Instead, it had a flat top that appears to be shaped like an anvil. On top of this flattened fin were enlarged teeth, which experts have been trying to explain for a long time.

While many theories suggest why this dorsal fin was formed the way it is, the most common theory suggests that the fin has something to do with the mating between Stethacanthus, as only males seemed to have the anvil.

Aside from this crazy feature, Stethacanthus didn’t grow very tall and was often much smaller than the average human being today. This shark is also very ratshark-like!

7. Success

The Edestus, which lived about 300 million to 320 million years ago, is another prehistoric shark that is quite … strange. Also called the scissor-tooth shark, the Edestus had curved jaws that caused its teeth to stick out at odd angles. Although it looks crazy, it was a large shark that could grow up to 22 feet in length (about the same size as the shark). largest great white sharks today)!

The most interesting thing about the Edestus is the way it used to hunt. Sharks all have interesting hunting methods, although sometimes we don’t learn too much about how prehistoric sharks hunted their prey. That cannot be said of Edestus!

While some parts of their hunt to do remains a mystery, it is thought that Edestus would knock its head up and down and inflict wounds on its prey, something not seen in today’s sharks!

6. Xenacanthus

often an . called eel shark, the Xenacanthus died out about 202 million years ago, making it another very old shark on this list. While it is a shark, the Xenacanthus is absolutely nothing like it. Plus, this shark was a freshwater shark!

Because this shark was a freshwater shark, the Xenacanthus may have thrived in waters such as swaps, allowing its eel-like body to help it navigate favorably. A larger, modern-looking species of shark Surely would not thrive in this type of freshwater.

Xenacanthus did not grow too big and would mainly have a length of about one meter. This shark also looked a lot like modern eels, hence the name.

The most interesting thing about th
is
shark is its backbone. The Xenacanthus had a sharp back that may have contained venom, making the shark feel almost like a stingray can! This spine would therefore have been an important form of protection against predators often much larger than the Xenacanthus.

5. Ptychod

Ptychodus was one of the largest prehistoric sharks, some estimates place it up to 33 feet long! Like today’s whale sharks it had a mouth full of teeth which were used to crush his food. By comparison, Ptychodus had larger molars that would crush large crustaceans rather than the plankton and krill that today’s whale sharks eat. Ptychod died out about 85 million years ago.

4. Cladoselache

Cladoselache, the first true shark, lived more than 380 million years ago. Though considered a shark, a Cladoselache has more in common with the average fish than the average shark today. Much smaller and less muscular than sharks, Cladoselache had a longer and leaner body that more closely resembles what large fish look like.

Cladoselache also had no scales or other armor plates on his body, another very interesting appearance feature. During this time, the Cladoselache was not a major ocean predator, possibly because of its very fragile appearance. However, these sharks managed to get away from apex predators by swimming very fast!

The Cladoselache, while so different from today’s sharks, is incredibly important to the evolution of sharks as a whole. Plus, the appearance of these sharks is so interesting — and strange!

3. Helicoprion

Helicoprion, also called the “buzzsaw shark”, lived about 290 million to 250 million years ago. This prehistoric shark also happens to be one of the most interesting additions to this list. When the first Helicoprion fossil was founded, archaeologists had no idea what they were looking at and initially thought they had found ammonite.

It was eventually discovered that this strange wreath of patterns actually… teeth. The Helicoprion had a coiled jawbone of teeth that rounded and protruded from the lower jaw. It is thought that Helicoprions were the first sharks to grow back their teeth after losing them — something modern sharks must do today to survive — making this shark an excellent example of shark evolution.

Helicoprions were formidable sharks, especially since no shark could regrow their own teeth before them. These sharks have also been able to live for about 40 million years and survive the Great Permian extinction, where 90-95% of all living things on Earth perished and is considered the worst mass extinction in all of Earth’s history!

2. Bluntnose Sixgill Shark

here’s something different in this list, a shark that isn’t even extinct yet! The blunt sixgill shark can trace its lineage back to the Jurassic era when dinosaurs roamed the Earth. This kind of shark can grow up to 6 meters long, about as long as a great white shark, but is rarely seen due to its deep water habitat.

1. Megalodon

No list of prehistoric sharks is complete without the megalodon. Considered to be the largest fish and sharks that ever lived, Megalodons were huge prehistoric sharks that were apex predators in their day. These giants lived from 23 million to 2.6 million years ago and ate large fish — such as whales and other large sharks — as if it were no big deal.

Megalodons are perhaps the most famous creature on this list simply because they are such fascinating animals. The only fossils we have to understand these sharks are their teeth — which are usually about three sizes larger than the average modern white shark tooth.

Their fossilized teeth allowed experts to determine the size of this giant shark. These sharks thrived all over the world when they were alive as their teeth have been found on every continent except Antarctica.

Megalodons were apex predators in their day. Even the rivals they had could not compare to them. However, climate change brought cold weather and water temperatures, slowly making megalodons extinct, as they only thrive in warm water. In addition, it is believed that they also lost a lot of their prey during this change. However, Megalodons are still known as one of the most – if not the most interesting prehistoric sharks!